Hermes Explains
Thirty Questions about Western Esotericism
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Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. 2019
Description
ESSWE7 conference marks the 20th anniversary of the centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (HHP). On this occasion, an anthology is being published with contributions from thirty experts from the field of Esotericism. Each article addresses questions about thirty basic issues raised in the subjects studied within this field. The volume is jointly edited by Wouter J. Hanegraaff, Peter Forshaw, and Marco Pasi and it is published from Amsterdam University Press. This book will be officially launched during the Reception ceremony of the ESSWE7 conference (2 July, 19:30-21:30). All the conference participants will be given a free copy of the book.
(Text from the publisher)
Table of contents
Introduction: Thirty red pills from Hermes Trismegistus pp 9-12
Aren’t we Living in a Disenchanted World? pp 13-20
Esotericism, That’s for White Folks, Right? pp 21-28
Surely Modern Art is not Occult? It is Modern pp 29-38
Is it True that Secret Societies are Trying to Control the World? pp 39-46
The Imagination… You Mean Fantasy, Right? pp 80-87
Weren’t Medieval Monks Afraid of Demons? pp 88-94
Isn’t Alchemy a Spiritual Tradition? pp 105-112
Music? What does that have to do with Esotericism? pp 113-119
Rejected Knowledge…: So you mean that Esotericists are the Losers of History? pp 145-152
The Kind of Stuff Madonna Talks about – that’s not Real Kabbala, is it? pp 153-160
Shouldn’t Evil Cults that Worship Satan be Illegal? pp 161-167
Can Superhero Comics Really Transmit Esoteric Knowledge? pp 177-183
Are Kabbalistic Meditations all about Ecstasy? pp 184-190
Isn’t India the Home of Spiritual Wisdom? pp 191-197
If People Believe in Magic, isn’t that just Because they aren’t Educated? p 198-206
But what does Esotericism have to do with Sex? p 207-215
Is there such a Thing as Islamic Esotericism? pp 216-224
Doesn’t Occultism Lead Straight to Fascism? pp 225-23
A Man who Never Died, Angels Falling from the Sky…: What is that Enoch Stuff all about? pp 232-242
Is there any Room for Women in Jewish Kabbalah? pp 243-251
Surely Born-again Christianity has Nothing to do with Occult Stuff like Alchemy? pp 252-260
Bibliography pp 261-304
Contributors to this Volume pp 305-308